Bianca Schulze | The Children’s Book Review | April 19, 2009
Written by Tony Mitton
Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
Age Range: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Orchard Books (April 15, 2009)
What to expect: Rhyme, Music, Animals, Farm Animals
“Down on the farm of Poor Old Joe,
the hens won’t lay and the crops won’t grow.”
Rip-roaring, toe-tapping, back-slapping, plain old fun — I love this book from start to finish. Farmer Joe is having a hard time on the farm. Hens won’t lay, cows won’t graze, and pigs won’t feed. However, with a little creative thinking, or a bright idea as it may be, Farmer Joe brings life back into the farm with music. The good old fashioned kind of music that will have you singing your way through the book and waiting for any chance to yell out a big “yee-har!”
Tony Mitton is a brilliant author who certainly has raw talent for rhyme. The words practically bounce off the page. And almost every page provides fun sounds that will have any story time crowd joining in with the reader. Guy Parker-Rees has created energetic illustrations that keep up perfectly with the up-beat rhythm of the text. One of my favorite picture books of ’09, Farmer Joe and the Music Show is a party-in-a-book!
“Down on the farm of clever old Joe,
the hens all lay and the crops all grow.”/blockquote>Be sure to also check out Dinosaurumpus! by this dynamic duo. Or Giraffes Can’t Dance which is illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees.
Add this book to your collection: Farmer Joe and the Music Show